The Financial Crisis and the Free Market Cure - Podcast

John Allison, recently retired from running prosperous BB&T bank to run one of Washington’s most prominent think tanks, the Cato Institute, had all he could stomach. Having read the books and heard the analyses about how the financial crisis was caused by greed on Wall Street, or by regulatory failures, or by efforts to undo the legacy of the Depression and the New Deal, he couldn’t hold back any more. Many interesting narratives have been offered to the public by reporters, pundits, and politicians. But John Allison was there, on the inside of the industry, watching what led to financial bubbles, on the receiving end of regulatory actions and policies. His new book, The Financial Crisis and the Free Market Cure is his analysis of what happened and why and, more important, what he believes is needed to get us off of the railroad track leading to more financial calamity. Hearing from a successful banker who believes in the power of free markets may help fuel an effort to find policies that could work. John Allison discusses the ideas presented in his book and takes questions from callers on this previously recorded conference call.